I "Mustache" You a Question...

As part of our Math in Focus curriculum, students learn how to organize, represent and interpret data. First graders put these skills to work by creating their own survey questions, tally charts, and bar graphs to show their results. Their survey questions included questions like "What's your favorite book?", "What is your favorite flower?", and "Who is your favorite Patriots player?", to name a few.

The students walked around the classroom, with mustaches on, to collect their data, saying "I mustache you a question..."  They had so much fun with this! Once their data was collected, and their graphs were made, we then analyzed and interpreted our information.

Common Core Standard 1.MD.C.4:

 Organize, represent, and interpret data with up to three categories; ask and answer questions about the total number of data points, how many in each category, and how many more or less are in one category than in another.

Mystery Readers

It is so much fun when a Mystery Reader visits us in 1-Thomson! Over the next several weeks, each Friday a Mystery Reader will join us to read a favorite picture book to the class. It is not only exciting to be surprised with a mystery guest, but Mystery Readers also model how to read aloud with fluency and expression.  So far, we've had Kaylie's mom and Lina's mom as Mystery Readers to share How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills, and Giggle, Giggle, Quack by Doreen Cronin.

Thank you for visiting! If you are interested in joining us as a Mystery Reader, please contact me...we'd love to have you! We are looking forward to more Mystery Readers in the coming weeks...stay tuned!

Fancy Day

The 100th day of school marked an exciting day in first grade-Fancy Day!  During Writer's Workshop, we have been discussing word choice to make our writing more descriptive. Well, how can we make our writing dazzle? Using "fancy" words of course!  After reading several Fancy Nancy books by Jane O'Connor, we collected and recorded our favorite fancy words. We used these words in fancy sentences and used these fancy words to revise some of our own writing.

Today, to celebrate all things fancy, we shared our favorite Fancy Nancy stories with the rest of the first grade classes and practiced using fancy words together. It was a stupendous (that's a fancy word for great) day!

Common Core Standard: W.1.5-With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.

Welcome Miss Pavlik!

I would like to introduce our student teacher for the semester, Miss Hannah Pavlik! Miss Pavlik is working towards her education degree at Merrimack College and will be graduating in the Spring. She was observing in our classroom this past fall, and the students love having her!  We are happy to welcome her to our first grade family!